Crime and Mental Disorder, 1972 (ICPSR 9088)

Principal Investigator(s):
Harper, Dean, University of Rochester

Summary:

The purpose of this data collection was to explore the
relationship between crime and mental disorder among jail inmates.
Three sample groups were studied: jail inmates who had psychiatric
contacts, jail inmates who did not have psychiatric contacts, and a
control group of psychiatric patients who were not in jail. Psychiatric
diagnosis history for inmates and patients with psychiatric contacts
spanning 18 years (1960-1977) is available along with each subject's
crime record and sentencing history. Variables include demographic
characteristics, type of offenses sentenced, and number of arrests.
Also included are psychiatric contact information including date of
contact, diagnosis, type of service given, date of treatment
termination, and reason for termination.

The purpose of this data collection was to explore the
relationship between crime and mental disorder among jail inmates.
Three sample groups were studied: jail inmates who had psychiatric
contacts, jail inmates who did not have psychiatric contacts, and a
control group of psychiatric patients who were not in jail. Psychiatric
diagnosis history for inmates and patients with psychiatric contacts
spanning 18 years (1960-1977) is available along with each subject's
crime record and sentencing history. Variables include demographic
characteristics, type of offenses sentenced, and number of arrests.
Also included are psychiatric contact information including date of
contact, diagnosis, type of service given, date of treatment
termination, and reason for termination.

Access Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Universe:
Prisoners (some having had psychiatric contact, others not)
who served time in a county jail in 1972.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

The file has a variable number of records per case
because it is hierarchically structured at two levels: (1) the
individual level and (2) the psychiatric contact level. For each
individual there are at least two 80-column records of data. For each
prisoner with psychiatric contacts and for each control group patient,
there are one or more additional 80-column records, each representing a
separate entry in the Psychiatric Case Register. At the least, a case
would have 58 variables describing it, at most, 1,103.

Methodology

Sample:
The sample is composed of 617 prisoners who served time in
a county jail during 1972. Among these individuals, 386 had psychiatric
contacts either before or after their imprisonment (i.e., between 1960
and 1977) and 231 did not. A control group of 386 psychiatric patients
who had not served jail time during 1972 was also selected from the
lists of the Psychiatric Case Register. These patients were matched to
jail inmates with the psychiatric contacts on the following
characteristics: year of first psychiatric contact, census tract of
first contact, birth year, gender, and race.

Data Source:

County jail inmate intake logs and probation files, and
a county psychiatric case register.